Will we continue to see XBOX exclusives in the future?

Exclusivity decisions at XBOX appear to be purely experimental at the moment, highlighted by the first two games in the return to exclusivity being from a tentpole franchise with Gears of War: E-Day and a new IP in Clockwork Revolution. Choosing two drastically different known quantities to be exclusive appears to be an attempt to see what works and assess the feasibility of having titles be XBOX platform exclusives. The success or failure of these titles will ultimately guide the future of exclusivity at Xbox Game Studios.

If Gears of War: E-Day has stellar sales, but Clockwork Revolution does not, I’d reckon we will see one of two paths moving forward:

1. XBOX returns to releasing all Xbox Game Studios titles for all platforms, doubling down on their goal to become the world’s biggest publisher of video games.
2. XBOX only releases major, known franchises as exclusives, putting smaller and new IP on all platforms.

Honestly, if I was a betting man, which I am not, I would say that we would see the former. I suspect the only way XBOX expands its exclusive catalog is in the event both games have exceptional initial and long-term sales. Regardless of the outcome, I don’t think we will see multiplayer focused games such as Call of Duty or State of Decay be exclusive to XBOX. Call of Duty brings in too much revenue to be exclusive and multiplayer games benefit from a large player base.

What should XBOX do?

Personally, I am torn on what I would like to see XBOX do moving forward. A part of me wants to see XBOX expand their exclusivity, which is easy to say since I was fortunate enough to snag both a PS5 digital and Xbox Series X at launch. In theory, having two competing brands in the high-end console space should be good for gamers. Competition typically drives innovation, giving us bigger leaps in hardware and software, while simultaneously keeping console prices lower. Sadly, “lower” isn’t saying much since consoles could hit the $1k price point for the next console generation due to increased component costs.

On the other hand, having grown up owning one console per generation, it stung when a game was exclusive to the console I didn’t own. If XBOX were to stay away from exclusivity, it would enable gamers to experience a wider variety of titles. Additionally, less exclusivity provide game studios a wider audience, making it easier to reach the sales expectations and find financial stability. When digging into the two options, the latter is likely the better choice for everyone.

While “to be exclusive or not to be” remains the hot topic at XBOX, so many in the industry, like IGN and Kinda Funny, are discussing how “gamers are frustrated by the inconsistent messaging.” Are gamers truly frustrated about the back and forth of exclusivity at XBOX? Logically, Xbox and PC gamers shouldn’t care about the messaging or whether a game is exclusive to XBOX platforms. If games are exclusive to XBOX platforms, Xbox and PC gamers are afforded unique experiences that PS5 players aren’t. Something PS5 gamers have been relishing since the start of the PS4 and Xbox One console generation. If not, Xbox and PC still get to play the games they want on the console they own.

The decision to push exclusivity and the inconsistent messaging only hurts two groups of people. The first being gamers who don’t own a console that supports XBOX games or Game Pass, i.e. PS5 owners. The impact on this group is simply not getting to play mainstream games or being a part of the conversation around them. Which, if we are being honest, isn’t that big of a deal because the number of amazing games coming out is more than gamers can feasibly play. The second, and more worrying group, are the employees of studios that make games exclusively for XBOX platforms. Exclusivity narrows the audience of a game and increase the risk of it being deemed a “failure”. All culminating in a higher likelihood of layoffs and cancelation of future projects.

Only time will tell if XBOX expands their exclusive catalog or changes their business strategy for the umpteenth time.